Examine Rhizopus or common mould under Microscope. Write your observation.
Aim : Observation of Rhizopus or common mould under the microscope.
Materials Required: Mould sample, plain glass slide, coverslip, water, disposable gloves. Procedure:
- Place a drop of water in the centre of the slide.
- Using a toothpick, scrape very little of the mould and place it on the drop of water.
- Take the cover slip and set it at an angle to the slide, so that one edge of it touches the water drop, then carefully lower it over the drop so that the cover slip covers the specimen without trapping air bubbles underneath.
- Use the corner of a tissue paper or blotting paper to blot up any excess water at the edges of the cover slip.
- View the slide with a compound microscope first observe under low power.
Observation:
a) The common bread mould consists of fine thread like projections called hyphae and thin stems having knob like structures called sporangia.
b) Each sporangium contains hundreds of minute spores.
c) When the sporangium bursts, the tiny spores are dispersed in air.